Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: billyb on February 21, 2018, 10:34:48 AM
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Nice to see a Salix doing well! Viking the other contender.
Not as much from forum sponsors this year, but Kippax are in there!
http://www.thecricketer.com/Topics/features/the_cricketer_good_gear_guide_2018_we_test_the_latest_bats_on_the_market.html (http://www.thecricketer.com/Topics/features/the_cricketer_good_gear_guide_2018_we_test_the_latest_bats_on_the_market.html)
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The Kahuna 600 is the perfect weight for @smilley792
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Bit of a nonsense test considering all the bats were stickered up...
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Bit of a nonsense test considering all the bats were stickered up...
And considering the smaller brands pay for the ‘privilege’ of being tested. Never seen the point in having to pay for a bat to be tested, obviously completely bias to the design etc.
The Wisden test is coming up soon, at least that one is a blank test so about as unbiased as a cricket test can be
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Magazines are the wrong people to be doing these, as the scoring here shows, they can't slate anyone because they're all potential advertising revenues.
Say a forum would be the best people to run one, but obviously then not many people would send in bats as there's no exposure afterwards for the results.
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Custom Bats Form Gear Test - Sponsored by Wisden.
Problem solved ;)
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" Each of the bats were given about 20 throw downs"
How can you judge a bat on 20 throwdowns?
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Slightly off topic, but a good cricket blog is what the industry needs.
I know a few people have dabbled with creating a cricket gear blog - however I still feel there is a great opportunity for someone to do this on a much larger/longer scale. If I wasn't involved with a brand, this is something that I would be looking to do as I'm sure there would be some major benefits of doing this for your own personal gain if done correctly.
I believe customers are getting more savvy by the day and understand that magazines are likely to rate companies higher who spend money on advertising in their magazines, so having a blog and stating real opinions would certainly have a lot of influence in helping younger consumers make their choice in purchasing kit (due to the demographic that it's likely to appeal to) rather than reading the same old marketing spiel. It would take a lot of time and effort to start something like this and you'll grain trust from the consumer the longer that you pursue it. I'd rather use influencers/bloggers to help promote my own brand rather than pay to be in the magazines as it's something that's expensive to do (and hard to track the return on the spend, from a physical ad in a magazine) for smaller brands - so if I'm thinking that, then I'm sure there are other brands are screaming out for something like this too.
The cricket industry as a whole seem to be slow to adapting to new forms of media/advertising - as it's taken a while for most brands to have responsive and eCommerce websites and it seems that pretty much every other industry has some form of bloggers/influencers and it's just waiting for someone in the cricketing world to do this properly.
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Excellent post, @mattw. I've considered something similar.
I note that the We Coach Cricket YouTube channel has some kind of deal with Newbery - and I really wouldn't have considered using one before seeing them use them. Influencer marketing works!
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It's a decent point, with a lot of other markets Youtube reviews are massive with companies sending out kit to reviewers right left and centre or even some crowdfunded. It'll happen sooner or later in cricket you'd imagine, but presumably the hard thing for your blogger/youtuber is the jump from the point of starting out to the point where you've got enough of an audience that you get free kit sent to you.
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The problem with bloggers in a reviewing sense is they have their own bias and I think people see that
I suppose the other argument against is the risk of sending something to a completely independent reviewer is receiving a bad review or even slightly negative/ average comment so why take that risk when the norm works ok(ish)
There are brands on this forum who have done what you suggest with "influencers" and I think that was received very well, though it is hard to expand to the wider range of potential customers. The reason I say that is that if we are really honest kit doesn't really vary that much compared to other industries and it is a saturated market of everyone doing things pretty much the same and the average cricket consumer isn't really missing much by buying whatever looks nice, nor does the average buyer think about buying a bat or kit more than walking in to their local sports shop and going for whatever they like the look of.
I like @sarg 's video reviews for honest thoughts and subtle differences between a wide range of bats though that is a bit too geeky CBF for most :)
I agree, Sarg's content is good and that's probably the best out there at the moment.
I did enjoy the Cricket Insight content when that was going strong and there was a gear test then, which at that point I was involved with Vantage and the lithium bat won an award for the best performer on the day. Whilst I completely get that it's a saturated market and the majority of products are fairly similar, this will make brands put more effort in when designing kit etc. Not only that, there is much more to judge a product on than the product itself - customer service, ease of purchasing, information with the product, packaging and so on.
Regarding bloggers/influencers benefiting from something like this - there is much more than just receiving free kit to review, such as being paid every time someone clicks on a referral link, influencing a customer to purchase, having paid for advertising banners on their website etc. Whilst this is stepping in to the same territory of the magazines, there will be a fine-line of when it (hopefully) goes from being a hobby, to a full-time and profitable job. So different to the magazines that seem to have to please everyone - the blog(s) should have their own voice and their own personality and as they are a real person/voice - they will have their own opinions on what they do and do not like, otherwise they will be the same as the magazines and therefore become pointless/irrelivent.
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It's a decent point, with a lot of other markets Youtube reviews are massive with companies sending out kit to reviewers right left and centre or even some crowdfunded. It'll happen sooner or later in cricket you'd imagine, but presumably the hard thing for your blogger/youtuber is the jump from the point of starting out to the point where you've got enough of an audience that you get free kit sent to you.
Yeah I agree, you can't expect to see something from it originally and I believe the aim should be to review your mates kit, start small as a hobby and then opportunities will arise - however I would say that it's important to have a website. Where you can write blogs and content for SEO - then overtime more and more people will start to trust the blog as it gets bigger, the content improves, they start to find their niche etc. Then brands will be wanting to send free kit, or work out other agreements such as paying for click-throughs from the website, a referral that leads to a sale and so on.
Ultimately, it's not going to be something that you're going to see a return from in the early days, but the longer it continues the more you could potentially expect from it. One thing I would state to anyone who's going to be doing this, is to write blogs and create new content regularly but most important to find a niche or your interest and stay consistent with that rather than trying to do everything.
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One problem with cricket equipment, versus say football boots is that cricket equipment is released once a year. So your blog has loads of content in September, but come March and the season starting you're really struggling. Football has multiple drops throughout a year, which keeps it interesting.
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Magazines are the wrong people to be doing these, as the scoring here shows, they can't slate anyone because they're all potential advertising revenues.
Without wanting to stir the pot, the write up next to the Kippax Problade was fairly scathing:
Oh dear. "Horrible. Unless you absolutely nail it, it feels like concrete," says Simon, although he does say "the balance is quite good".
Chris is equally unimpressed. "Unbelievably hard - my hands are ringing." It is worth pointing out that Chris' other job is operating a pneumatic drill, but still. He does say, however: "The middle is OK."
At least Alex is more kind. "There's a bit of a ping to it, but exceeded my expectations, and you don't have to hit it that hard..."
Yet it was still given a score of 8.2/10
The score seems rather high compared to what was said, doesn't it?
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And considering the smaller brands pay for the ‘privilege’ of being tested.
Hello. I'm not sure that is strictly true.
It's also not all just through Owzat, the boutique section is not through them as far as I am aware.
There are some strange scores that don't seem to fit with the text.
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The blog would probably have to rely on CBF members in it's early days, but we certainly buy enough kit on this forum to get a pretty wide range of reviews, at least of bats to start with.
A glossy cricket gear equipment blog/review site- done to a good quality with good images, and then eventually getting kit sent through/money generated from SEO- could be quite successful, no?
Kit could be divided up based on contributions to the website etc.
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From first hand experience, setting up a blog of this nature is a full time job. You have to be able to update content frequently to keep people coming to your site, driven by traffic through other forms of social media such as Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Hats off to people who manage to build up a following in their spare time, and certainly it could be done by a collective of people all pulling in the same direction, but it's a big job.
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Pretty sure Viking don't stock at owzat.
Agree the reviews don't quite match the scores, would also like to see how they test each bat.
It's a massive deal for the smaller brands though, I know Jeff at viking and having spoke to him last night he was delighted with their outcome, it's massive for them help spread the good word about his brand
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The blog would probably have to rely on CBF members in it's early days, but we certainly buy enough kit on this forum to get a pretty wide range of reviews, at least of bats to start with.
A glossy cricket gear equipment blog/review site- done to a good quality with good images, and then eventually getting kit sent through/money generated from SEO- could be quite successful, no?
Kit could be divided up based on contributions to the website etc.
You're welcome to try it, but I launched one a few years back and it was a lot of effort. Days off work to arrange meetings with brands, visiting trade shows and admittedly only did it for a couple of years max with it making around £50.00 a month max.
There's space for it, but the cricket market will never be as sexy nor make as much money as sites such as SoccerBible or HighSnobiety
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Hello. I'm not sure that is strictly true.
It's also not all just through Owzat, the boutique section is not through them as far as I am aware.
There are some strange scores that don't seem to fit with the text.
To enter the test you pay for the associated advertising, hence all the boutique brands having a page/half page in the PDF. I was approached again this year so have the email somewhere. Agreed you’re not strictly paying to enter the test, but you’re not getting in the issue without paying something at least.
Either way, the returns on almost any advertising in print media is nowhere near worth it anymore - if I pumped £500 into social media the returns wouldn’t even be comparable from experience.
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Thanks everyone who likes my hobby page https://www.facebook.com/MarcsCricketBatPrepInformation/ (https://www.facebook.com/MarcsCricketBatPrepInformation/)
I have come to believe there is no point ranking bats although I love reading the gear tests for ideas of what is on the horizon. I purposely do not have a favourite, because I don't want people getting the impression there is one that stands above all else and I certainly am not in a position to make that call or endorse one brand publicly over the next. I do have bat makers/brands I think put out some great bats. I just love cricket bats and of course Elviar Mallets (free plug for Les :D), not so much the buying and selling of bats.
As far as bias and objectivity goes, well there are genuinely some great bats and some real poor efforts. I don't go out of my way to find fault or create problems for sellers and bat makers, but I do voice my opinion when I genuinely think something has gone wrong. I realise that bat makers are trying to put meals on the table, so I don't go out of my way to be chaotic or controversial. My reviews are just a point of view and I realise one man's trash is another's treasure. They have evolved as I borrow ideas and try different things, occasionally some are stupid. My review process is always on the fly and unprepared and and I try to make it my first interaction with the bat so you get my actual first impression. The drawback of this is I ramble on and edit a lot of drivel out during production.
It is a enjoyable hobby born out of the enthusiasm I connected with joining this page, so you are always welcome on the page and I am happy to hear from anyone.
I am still annoyed about photobucket, as we lost so many excellent reviews we did for the forum.
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You page is brilliant Marc. Love looking on it weekly for new review pictures and seeing bats and their shapes. I find an actual image of a bat on a normal camera so much easier to tell what the bats shape is like that the brochure marketing photos!
About this gear test I just Can’t work this review out. The Kippax ProBlade gets a fairly scathing review yet gets 9 for performance???
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To enter the test you pay for the associated advertising, hence all the boutique brands having a page/half page in the PDF. I was approached again this year so have the email somewhere. Agreed you’re not strictly paying to enter the test, but you’re not getting in the issue without paying something at least.
Either way, the returns on almost any advertising in print media is nowhere near worth it anymore - if I pumped £500 into social media the returns wouldn’t even be comparable from experience.
Agreed on the social media bit, £500 can go a long way. TCB has an advert and a couple of bats involved. You just need to do a bit of haggling :D
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We pulled out of the Allout Cricket test mainly because the process. Of the 6 bats we sent the best missed the cut because it only had 7 grains !. Frustrating that a product made for making runs missed the podium because of where it grew. I am sure others in the industry have similar tales. The process begins with staff picking the top 20 based on grain of willow, the one thing a bat maker (or brand) has nothing to do with, and takes all the credit for.
We put to the organisers that they provide similar clefts of Willow to actual manufacturers to see what the results were on the “cleanskin test”. Or, submit bats with an ordinary six grains for judgement. They thought it was a good idea but impractical.
With the current model of judging it was nice to get fluffy comments but not really worth the cost and effort. Furthermore, from the horses mouth, they have to look after advertisers in the magazine.
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We pulled out of the Allout Cricket test mainly because the process. Of the 6 bats we sent the best missed the cut because it only had 7 grains !. Frustrating that a product made for making runs missed the podium because of where it grew. I am sure others in the industry have similar tales. The process begins with staff picking the top 20 based on grain of willow, the one thing a bat maker (or brand) has nothing to do with, and takes all the credit for.
We put to the organisers that they provide similar clefts of Willow to actual manufacturers to see what the results were on the “cleanskin test”. Or, submit bats with an ordinary six grains for judgement. They thought it was a good idea but impractical.
With the current model of judging it was nice to get fluffy comments but not really worth the cost and effort. Furthermore, from the horses mouth, they have to look after advertisers in the magazine.
@Hoover I recall you finished on top or second in a few tests when you were involved, out of interest did this result in any demand increase for Bradbury? Was it worth it? it is a marketing.
I am guessing a established bat makers like yourselves can trade off mostly goodwill alone now all the hard work of selling bats in both the UK and Australia and firmly establishes Bradbury as a top tier bat maker with loyal returning customers.
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@Hoover I recall you finished on top or second in a few tests when you were involved, out of interest did this result in any demand increase for Bradbury? Was it worth it? it is a marketing.
I am guessing a established bat makers like yourselves can trade off mostly goodwill alone now all the hard work of selling bats in both the UK and Australia and firmly establishes Bradbury as a top tier bat maker with loyal returning customers.
We do not believe sales were boosted. Maybe brand awareness was helped.
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How about I offer clefts from a single tree, to any batmaker who wants to make a bat or bats for a test. We could specify that the bats can be any profile, but must be within 1 oz of a set weight to qualify. There would be a cost for the clefts but it might be the fairest way to ensure consistency.
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Gear guides mmm seen the inside trading of them and the advertising of them load of tosh....
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How about I offer clefts from a single tree, to any batmaker who wants to make a bat or bats for a test. We could specify that the bats can be any profile, but must be within 1 oz of a set weight to qualify. There would be a cost for the clefts but it might be the fairest way to ensure consistency.
Would be awesome to see the results of something like that.
Can always come to an agreement with the batmakers regarding cost and ownership of the final bat :)
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How about I offer clefts from a single tree, to any batmaker who wants to make a bat or bats for a test. We could specify that the bats can be any profile, but must be within 1 oz of a set weight to qualify. There would be a cost for the clefts but it might be the fairest way to ensure consistency.
We’re in.
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I will sponsor a testing session at a convenient location...
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@JK Lewis create a thread for this, happy to help with any logistics/planning :)
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Would love to be one of the testers 😉
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I reckon there's a big enough following here and enough expertise to have make a separate blog with several contributors. A post every couple of days should be achievable, that's only two or three a month depending how many people are willing to contribute.
Somebody to do the marketing of the site on social/PPC/SEO and someone who's tech savvy enough to build it and we're away!
Only problem is deciding on the cut of the profits!